


Jason and the Golden Pool

by nonky



Category: Nancy Drew (TV 2019)
Genre: Angst, F/M, Gen, Season/Series 01
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-19
Updated: 2019-12-19
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:55:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,569
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21855640
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nonky/pseuds/nonky
Summary: He had no illusions about them. It wasn't a solid base for a relationship that lasted years. She didn't have that level of faith in anyone sticking around, and Nick couldn't blame her for being hurt after her mother died. He was just on the far side of that fear, already beginning to notice he wanted to call Nancy and tell her he'd changed his mind. He couldn't handle the molten heat of her attention, and the following cool as her mysteries took her away was making him brittle. It made him feel as ruined as the crust of melted coins he'd scraped off the floor once their seance failed.Spoilers up to Episode 9, rated for some mild sexual musings from Nick.
Relationships: Nancy Drew/Ned Nickerson
Comments: 2
Kudos: 5
Collections: Nancy Drew TV Series (2019)





	Jason and the Golden Pool

Any other woman would look odd with a black eye, and on Nancy it was somehow the next obvious step to a week spent quelling the spirits and finding out they knew an actual undercover cop.

His goal to avoid heartache lasted longer than his anger. Nick had known the combination of his feelings rushing ahead and Nancy's stumbling over her reticence to love and lose were volatile. He hadn't counted on the memories hitting him the second he tried to sleep. He wanted to help Nancy more than ever, more with every insistent rejection. In some ways, he'd felt she'd been in more danger that day than Ted.

His loft still felt like it was a little bit hers now. She had invaded his space, pushy and largely silent. It wasn't that there were sweet sighs and pleasured moans as much as the cheap bed had heaved with her hips lunging to take him fast, before she had to run away. The tiny loft had breathed with her, his arms and legs gusted with the rise of her sensations. The whole space had spun and twisted around them, dizzy as Nancy seized on his flesh and made it feel like her own. 

Nick had tried putting her underneath him, gaining some control. She went to a golden pool around him, her barely there tan gleaming on crests of thighs and shoulders and cheekbones. Her hair had coiled and swirled and poured across his pillow, a wash of gleaming warmth for his fingers. Her body pulsed wet and strong around him, clean and shining like walking out of prison on his last day into visceral gratitude. 

The change from casual feelings to something unnamed and shy had happened in bed, the first time Nancy had spent the night. She'd pulled him on top and actually closed her arms all the way around him. Nick had felt needed, not just a momentary convenience and a way of forgetting. She'd fled her fight with her father and come to his place for safe lodging until morning. 

The little beginning of a real something had been tripped up the next morning when she found his burner phone with Tiffany's messages. Nancy's suspicions had stung, but at least she had cared about who he was enough to question him. Nick thought his identity might have been nearly incidental to her until she started their first fight and kept it going until she got him to reveal himself. 

Acceptance was somehow easy once they'd fought and fought the whole day. He knew Nancy was on some defensive kick and not in the mood to have vulnerabilities babied and validated. He hadn't known he was so defensive until the truth had to come out. 

He turned to his side, but she was there, curled up and sleeping with a peaceful brow and a determined chin. Her hands hovered between closing and opening, nails pearly and fingers twined on his wrist like a bracelet. He could complain about the heat of her on summer nights when none was needed for comfort, but he'd wanted that, too. He remembered fragments of waking fears, surfacing from a dream to find her body already warming his shaking and her even breathing soothing the chill of his skin. 

Nick had spent too much money eating fried food at The Claw, catching her eyes for a smile that mattered too much. He'd invested too much emotionally to back down, and now he was the one to call a stop to everything. He felt stupid and Nancy felt essential. 

He had no illusions about them. It wasn't a solid base for a relationship that lasted years. She didn't have that level of faith in anyone sticking around, and Nick couldn't blame her for being hurt after her mother died. He was just on the far side of that fear, already beginning to notice he wanted to call Nancy and tell her he'd changed his mind. He couldn't handle the molten heat of her attention, and the following cool as her mysteries took her away was making him brittle. It made him feel as ruined as the crust of melted coins he'd scraped off the floor once their seance failed.

But life had made him stronger, forcing him to build resilience where he'd once had gaps that made him feel less like a person. Maybe after one of their mysteries had been solved, they could be a team again. He couldn't force a change he didn't want in a woman he was glad was so determined. He would find his own determination and work on doing the last thing he could for Tiffany. 

It took his mind off demons asking for children's souls, and his strange feeling of closeness with George lately. She wasn't much more friendly, but she definitely seemed to like him better than a few weeks ago. It seemed wrong to even think about going there. George was barely over Ryan Hudson, and he certainly wasn't past his feelings for Nancy.

Nick's resolve lasted hours, poring over files and notes. It lasted through the cold moment of realizing he'd be getting his own coffee in the morning, skipping his breakfast plans at The Claw and the daily check-in with his new set of friends. It even lasted past the boredom and fatigue as he forced himself to keep reading in bed. He was about to admit defeat to his waning energy when he found a whole subdirectory on Owen Marvin, like a nest of spiders cracking open. 

This wasn't like the $50,000 to Carson Drew, or even finding out the Marvins and Hudsons had joint projects. Nancy might have been afraid of her father's guilt, but not afraid of him. Owen Marvin had singled her out from the beginning. Nick had never thought it was innocent, but he'd assumed it was a more basic interest in her obvious appeal. But maybe it was her reputation and her identity that had the man's attention, cloaked under a romantic interest. 

There was so much money to follow, a vast web of glittering wealth like a river running underground through the small town. It covered a lot of ground, and the Marvins were charitable. The sincerity of their giving was debatable, but not the sheer numbers of recipients and organizations indebted to their donations. The best way to hide bribes would be inside a long list of unrelated patronage that spanned every nonprofit and community outreach Horseshoe Bay had ever had.

He called her, wondering if she would have answered this late for him before he started tipping off her father. Everyone had closed ranks around Ace at the hospital, but they couldn't just sit bedside and celebrate his waking up. They were averaging a crisis a day, and Ted's kidnapping was a direct result of their actions stirring up the town's many ghosts. If any of them were going to feel safe, answers had to be found and exposed. Secrets were openings to divide them, leaving them vulnerable to attack. 

It was perhaps obvious he had to leave a vague voicemail for Nancy. She didn't want to talk to him, and he understood her need for space. Nick didn't start to worry until he tried Carson Drew's number mid-morning and a police officer answered with a cautious tone. The phone was in evidence at the police station, the lawyer locked up and unavailable unless Nick was his legal representation. 

A round of texts and calls later, Nick realized no one had seen Nancy in a day. They were all equally concerned, and her house was locked and empty. Her car was gone, and no one had any missed calls or texts from her. Her phone was ringing through to an automated message saying she was out of range of cell towers. 

He pulled George and Bess out of Ace's hospital room, and Bess finally offered, "Owen gave me his number yesterday. We, uh, talked about how I might be a Marvin. I can try him."

Nick was braced for the bad news before Bess hung up without leaving a message. She looked at him apologetically, and said, "He's out of service range. I can try texting him, but he won't get it now."

Nancy's influence was almost impressive as they all took a moment to wonder what was next, and George snapped her fingers. "I'm calling the harbour master. The Marvins have a boat, um, Tiny Vessel, I think. If it's out far enough, cellphones don't work. We can find out if it's tied up or not."

Bess nodded, her eyes wide. "Are we saying we think Owen is dangerous, because he's really nice," she said. "I mean, he's always been really nice. Particularly to Nancy, which I know is not great to hear for you, but - I'm confused if we're calling him to help look for her, or we're worried she's with him."

"Right now, I'm saying Nancy is missing and her father got arrested last night, so I'm worried about her," Nick said firmly. "If I can hear her voice say she's okay, I'll figure out what else to think."

He wasn't sure if it was regret burning in his heart, but it was definitely enough to counter any self-preservation. Even absent, she made it a little hard to concentrate on his good reasons not to get too attached.


End file.
